Counterattack

This time, Old Man Dique did not give Qin Sang direct orders right away. A bizarre fluctuation rose from his body accompanied by curling, demonic tones. Then, raging flames materialized out of thin air. The fire illuminated the stone steps until they were brilliantly bright, yet it radiated not a shred of heat. As the color of the flames grew deeper, Qin Sang truly began to feel the ambient temperature climbing. The sweltering heat seemed to emanate from the depths of his heart. Even with his cultivation, he found it difficult to endure, and a fine layer of sweat broke out across his forehead. Looking back at Old Man Dique, the man's appearance had undergone a drastic transformation. His fleshly body had vanished entirely, replaced by the form of a flame flying monkey. Whether in shape or aura, there was not the slightest difference between him and a genuine flame flying monkey—even the golden gleam in his eyes was identical. A perfect replica! That eerie, golden gaze fell upon Qin Sang. Qin Sang's heart chilled, and he secretly remained on guard. During this time, he had racked his brains trying to devise a way to escape, yet he had never found an opportunity. Next, Old Man Dique struck out a mass of Thousand Illusions Divine Sound power that settled before Qin Sang. Pointing toward the lava lake, he barked, "You go first!" Qin Sang manipulated the cluster of Thousand Illusions Divine Sound power, but he could not mimic Old Man Dique's flawless disguise. He understood that the old man wanted him to serve as bait and clear a path! Qin Sang offered no resistance and complied immediately. With a thought, the fiery cloak draped over him. Repeating the motions he had grown thoroughly familiar with, his figure darted out like lightning, hurtling into the lava lake at top speed. The moment the monkey swarm spotted Qin Sang, chaos erupted across the scene. With a strange cackle, Old Man Dique vanished on the spot, reappearing at the edge of the lava lake in the next instant. "Roar!" The flame flying monkeys in the lava lake howled, besieging Qin Sang without noticing that a presence masquerading as their "kin" had slipped quietly into their midst. Beside Old Man Dique, several flame flying monkeys noticed this "stranger." They swept a casual glance over him, then looked away and roared as they charged toward Qin Sang, clearly having taken him for one of their own. Qin Sang fended them off with difficulty, yet his gaze remained locked onto Old Man Dique. He watched with his own eyes as Old Man Dique moved like smoke, weaving through the countless flame flying monkeys and taking advantage of the turmoil to inch toward the Red Gold Vine without arousing the vigilance of a single monkey. Qin Sang's heart sank. In his view, the flying monkeys possessed Fiery Golden Eyes capable of seeing through concealment techniques, so Old Man Dique's chances of success should not have been high—fifty-fifty at best—and the monkeys were extremely likely to see through his disguise. He had not expected Old Man Dique's disguise to be so immaculate that it had not alarmed the swarm even now. The Thousand Illusions Divine Sound undoubtedly possessed capabilities Qin Sang did not yet know about. At this moment, Old Man Dique moved with singular purpose, mingling among the monkeys as he rushed straight for the golden fruit upon the Red Gold Vine. He was practically upon his target! Seeing this, Qin Sang's eyes flashed, and he detonated the power of the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound within him without reservation. Qin Sang had only just entered the sea of lava and had consumed merely a fraction of the divine sound's power. With its sudden detonation, the space around him turned into a fathomless vortex. The vast divine sound took the shape of fire, bursting from the vortex with Qin Sang at its center and spreading into a sea of flames. Ten thousand fiery waves erupted simultaneously! Raging flames scorched the heavens! The flame flying monkeys caught in the sea of fire that had not yet fused were destroyed outright, their primordial fire essence extinguished along with them. Even the fused, extraordinarily formidable monkeys could not withstand the abrupt onslaught, their bodies cracking inch by inch. "Roar!" These monkeys howled toward the sky, frantically swinging their giant clubs to beat back the incoming waves of fire. They could not comprehend why they, creatures who ought to thrive in flames like fish in water, were feeling the terror of death. Soon, they abandoned all resistance and threw themselves at one another, initiating a fresh fusion. In the blink of an eye, the hundreds of massive flame flying monkeys were halved, yet the fusion did not stop: one hundred, fifty... Watching the aura of the fused flying monkeys grow ever stronger, Qin Sang felt as fragile as an ant that could be crushed to death with ease. Yet instead of panic, he felt joy! This was the pattern he had pieced together through repeated testing. The fusion of the flying monkeys was not a matter of devouring one another, but merely a tactic to counter formidable foes. Once the enemy was gone, they would separate back into their original individuals, their strength completely unchanged from before the fusion. For precisely this reason, their instincts held no strong desire to fuse; every time they reached a level capable of annihilating their enemy, they would halt the fusion process. Now, Qin Sang had detonated the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound without hesitation specifically to give the monkeys the illusion that a terrifying enemy had invaded, forcing them to fuse frantically to bolster their strength. Qin Sang's objective was to conjure several formidable adversaries for Old Man Dique out of thin air! Old Man Dique was perfectly disguised for now, but the moment he moved to pluck the Red Gold Vine's fruit, the swarm was bound to discover him. If the flying monkeys only began fusing after Old Man Dique revealed himself, it would be too late, and they would never be able to stop him. Now, Qin Sang had prepared several divine monkeys for him in advance. Once Old Man Dique was entangled by them, that would be Qin Sang's chance to escape! The people outside had already begun joining forces to break the restriction. As long as he got out and joined them, they were all sect disciples, which should make the old ghost wary of collateral damage and hesitant to strike openly. There was no deep enmity between him and the old ghost, and he had helped him steal the spiritual fruit. Seeing that the situation was untenable, the old ghost would likely not pursue the matter. Qin Sang had never placed the slightest hope in the so-called token of gratitude Old Man Dique had spoken of. What Qin Sang feared most was that once the old ghost tasted the benefits, he would keep him captive and continue using him as a pathfinding stone. The old ghost Dique was absolutely capable of doing such a thing! Qin Sang had fought the flying monkeys before and was thoroughly familiar with them. Moreover, facing only a single type of opponent with few variations was the only reason he had managed to survive trial after trial. If the old ghost ordered him to scout the various restricted areas throughout the immortal's estate, facing arcane, ever-shifting restrictions, Qin Sang could not guarantee he would be so lucky every time, even with the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound. When that time came, leaving behind an intact corpse would be an extravagant hope. Having realized this, Qin Sang had not stopped searching for a way out for a single moment. This was the only chance he could see, and he had to seize it firmly! After detonating the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound, Qin Sang immediately became one with his sword, flying toward the outside of the lava lake without hesitation. He was not far from the edge of the lake, and he quickly broke through the monkeys' encirclement, heading straight for the stone steps. As he fled, Qin Sang glanced back toward the heart of the lava lake. Old Man Dique had already crept before the Red Gold Vine. One hand gripped the fruit firmly, and with a gentle tug, the fruit vanished into thin air, stowed away into his possession. The moment the fruit was plucked, the Red Gold Vine suddenly withered, shriveling at an astonishing speed into a dried creeper before disintegrating into drifting ash. At the base of the Red Gold Vine, a small piece of root seemed to remain. Perhaps with the passage of time, the Red Gold Vine would sprout once more, but waiting for it to bear fruit again would be difficult to achieve in the short term. The growth cycle of such natural spiritual fruits was exceedingly long. Even if not quite on the scale of the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid, it was still measured in centuries.